Living with the Australian Aboriginals - Our Limited Lens

The Unbelievable True Story - Our Limited Lens

The heat of the fire was so intense that I could barely breathe

Layers of flies landed on me and found their way to my eyes, ears, nose, and mouth

Next to me sat an elderly man that smelled so bad that I wanted to run for cover

This was the odd scene I found myself in during June of 2001 when I was living with a tribe of Aboriginals in the Australian Outback.

Thoughts swirled in my mind as I tried to grasp what was going on. I had been invited into the Aboriginals camp by one of the elders and I knew it was a great honor. Yet the physical environment was so uncomfortable and the two of us couldn’t communicate. All I could think about was “What am I doing here?” I stayed with this man, who we called ‘Jimmy’ for a few minutes and tried to observe him carving wooden sticks. I just couldn’t relax though and soon I held up my hand to say good-bye, rose and left the circle.

As I walked away I could feel my body reacting – it was as if I had a powerful energy running through me. I could somehow feel the boundary of his camp even though there was no physical marker. The group traveling with me stood nearby wanting a similar invitation from Jimmy but none came. We had been told by our interpreter that we were not to enter the camp without an invitation so I was thrilled when Jimmy waved me toward him after we returned from digging our lunch of honey ants. As I neared the edge of his camp, my body vibrating with an electricity I had never felt before, I started to understand part of why I was there. I stepped over the invisible boundary between my world and his and the realization hit me strongly.

It wasn’t about us understanding each other’s language or me being comfortable in his very different world. It was about the honor of being in the presence of an Aboriginal elder that came from a lineage reaching back 60,000 years and it was about something much larger than that. There was a Spirit there that I can only name as God. I stood on that red dirt for a split second and then turned around and looked at my newfound friend. His eyes found mine and he waved me back into his world.

I returned and sat once again near him at the edge of the blazing fire where his music stick tools lie in the dirt heating for use. The fire wasn’t hot like it was before though – the flames were just a few inches from my legs and yet it was quite comfortable. Something had changed. The flies were gone and the foul smell of Jimmy had disappeared. So what had changed on that fateful day? Only my perspective.

This was the first time that I telepathically communicated with another human being with such crystal clarity. I could hear every one of his thoughts and he taught me how to carve and mark these music sticks without uttering a word. When he was pleased with my work he held up his thumb and showed me his toothless grin. We laughed together in that space and a new world opened to me. I continue to communicate with Jimmy even though many miles separate us. My life was expanded that day and has never returned to its original dimensions.

I tell you this story because so much is dependent on what we believe to be true through the lens of our eyes that are limited. When we open to a possibility greater than we can see, we open to a world that is beautiful beyond belief – where we can connect with people across cultures and language barriers, where we can see and appreciate the reality of another person.

So I leave you with these questions: What opportunities have you walked away from because the situation didn’t quite fit your idea of comfortable? What will you do differently now to open to another’s world?

There are deep connections waiting that can change your life.